The invention relates to the technical field of devices for securing and immobilizing a meshed structure acting as a prosthesis on an anatomical part.
These meshed structures acting as prostheses, are very well known and can, for example, be used for the inguinal area since they are intended for the laparoscopic or open repair of inguinal hernias. This type of implant may be immobilized by different means, such as suture wires, clips, etc.
The invention relates more specifically to a way of securing and immobilizing a meshed structure acting as a prosthesis using an element made from a preformed thread capable of:                constituting at least one loop in the idle state, in other words when not being acted upon in any way;        being expanded linearly after insertion in a tubular element;        resuming its original shape upon emerging from the tube.        
To advantage but non-restrictively, the threads are made out of a shape-memory material. Such a solution is clear from the teaching in the document WO 2007/017562 whereof the applicant of the present application is also the proprietor.
From this basic conception, the meshed structure immobilization element, the problem arises of fitting said element which, in the idle state, is constituted by a loop, so that, prior to being fitted, it has to be expanded linearly, and then resume its original shape, constituting at least one loop implemented in a part of the thickness of the anatomical part and through a plurality of meshes of the structure in order to provide the connections.
To attain this objective, the document WO 2007/017562 teaches that a plurality of threads should be arranged, in alignment in a tube which has means capable of extracting a thread at the moment of its impaction in the meshed structure. This solution is not however completely satisfactory, given that a certain difficulty has arisen in respect of fitting a plurality of loops in the expanded state inside the tube with risks of overlapping, in particular at the moment of fitting.
The intended purpose of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks in a straightforward, safe, effective and rational way.
The problem the invention sets out to resolve is the possibility of fitting a meshed structure immobilisation element, said element constituting, in the idle state, i.e. when it is not being acted upon in any way, at least one loop, with the objective of being able to fill a fitting device with a plurality of threads in the linearly expanded state and extracting each thread separately from the device, while constituting at least one loop implemented in a part of the thickness of the anatomical part through a plurality of meshes of the structure in order to provide a connection.